The 2014 Emory softball team came through with an outstanding season, cementing its status as one of the premier programs in the Division III ranks.

The Eagles of head coach Penny Siqueiros posted their 15^th consecutive winning campaign, finishing with an overall record of 39-9, the fourth-highest win total in school history.  In addition, the team’s final ledger represented the fifth time in the last six years that it surpassed the 30-victory plateau and the 12^th time in its 16-year history.    

Some other noteworthy achievements from 2014 included:

** The program’s eighth bid in the past nine seasons and 12th overall to the NCAA Tournament. In the first year of D-III using a new postseason format, Emory advanced to the Super Regional Round.

** Serving as the host site for both Regional and Super Regional action.

** Holding down a No. 15 national ranking in the final NFCA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

** Bringing home its fifth straight and eighth overall University Athletic Association Championship, sharing the crown Case Western and Washington University with a 5-3 won-lost record.  

** Socking a school-record 47 home runs, bettering the previous standard of 36 set by the 2011 squad.  The Eagles’ 47 round trippers paced the UAA, and the team’s mark of 0.98 home runs per game average ranked ninth nationally.

** Establishing team seasonal records in a host of other categories including runs scored (366) and most hits (473).  The Eagles topped the UAA and stood eighth among all D-III programs with a 7.63 runs-per-game average while the hits total surpassed the 468 safeties registered by the 2001 club.

** Chalking up a school record 115 doubles, smashing the previous mark of 88 set in 2001.  Emory led all D-III programs in doubles per game (2.40 dpg).

** Leading the UAA and holding down the No. 3 position on the D-III ladder with a school record .567 slugging percentage.

** Pacing the UAA in hitting with a .360 mark at the plate, good for 12^th place nationally and the No. 3 slot on the program’s seasonal list.

** Posting seasonal school records with 329 runs batted in, a .435 on-base percentage and 745 total bases.

** Seeing two of its players garner All-America recognition, senior Megan Light with a first-team berth and sophomore Hannah Sendel with a spot on the second team.

** Claiming a pair of Capital One First Team Academic All-Americans, Megan Light and senior Claire Bailey.

** Having head coach Penny Siqueiros achieve a milestone with her 500^th career win taking place on Feb. 28 in the first game of a twinbill against Messiah College.

Emory opened the 2014 season in impressive fashion, bolting to a 20-0 record with all those contests played on the Eagles’ home field.   It represented just the second time in school history that an Emory team had posted a perfect record after 20 games, and was highlighted by two wins over both Messiah College and DePauw University, with those squads advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The Eagles then turned their attention to the University Athletic Association Tournament where they ended up co-tying for the championship with Case Western Reserve and Washington University with a 5-3 record.  Emory had two representatives on the all-tournament team, junior Moira Sullivan and Hannah Sendel.

Following the UAA Tournament, Emory split three straight doubleheaders against Berry College, No. 7 Virginia Wesleyan and Lynchburg College with the latter two teams eventually finding their way into the NCAA postseason. The Eagles then closed out the regular season portion of the schedule on a strong note, winning eight of the last nine games, outscoring the opposition by a 56-12 margin in that stretch.  Among the team’s wins was a road doubleheader sweep of Birmingham Southern by identical 2-1 scores and winning both games of a twinbill against No. 7 ranked Piedmont on April 9, by 7-0 and 2-1 margins.

With the NCAA implementing a new format for the postseason that saw 14 four-team pod and two three-team pod site, the Eagles were selected as a host for regional play.  Joining Emory in the double-elimination Atlanta Regional were Agnes Scott, Lynchburg and Piedmont.  After defeating Agnes Scott, 5-1, in its opening contest, Emory then met Piedmont, the program that had knocked the Eagles out of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.   In what will be remembered as one of the most entertaining games in history of the program, Emory, playing as the visiting team, rallied for three runs in the top half of the seventh to claim a 13-12 decision over the Lions.   The two teams would meet again the following day with Emory sealing the Regional championship with a 6-1 triumph.  The Eagles then hosted the best-of-three Super Regional with Trine University serving as the competition.  After coming out on the short end of a tough 6-5 setback in 10 innings in the opener, Emory saw its season come to a close the next afternoon when the Thunder came away with a 6-2 win.

Megan Light led a talented and battle-tested senior class with her offensive prowess resulting in a school record with 19 home runs with that mark good for second place nationally.  A NFCA First Team All-American for the second straight year, she ended the campaign as the UAA’s leading hitter with a .463 performance at the plate, collecting a team-leading 68 hits in 147 plate appearances.  In addition to her home run total, she set school season marks in runs scored (56), RBIs (65), total bases (145) and slugging percentage (.986).  Named the UAA’s Player of the Year for the second straight campaign and third time in her career, she chalked up a team-high 22 multi-hit contests and topped the squad with 19 outings of two or more RBIs.  On the national charts, Light held down the No. 4 position in runs batted in per game (1.41), stood fifth in slugging percentage, ranked 18^th in runs per game (1.22) and was 31^st in on-base percentage (.532).  In addition to her softball accolades, she was selected as the Capital One Division III Academic All-American of the Year for softball.   Light hung up her uniform figuring prominently in a host of Emory career categories including first in home runs (47), RBIs (224), hits (230), doubles (60) and slugging percentage (.812).

Senior Amanda Kardys served as the ace of the pitching staff for the second straight year, finishing with a 27-3 record with her victory total establishing a school seasonal record.  A second-team selection to both the All-UAA and All-Atlantic Region squads, Kardys made a school-record 42 appearances in the circle and hurled 15 complete games in 32 starts.  She logged 186 1/3 innings of action, the second-highest seasonal mark in school history, and fanned 87 batters.  One of her wins came in the NCAA Atlanta Regional when she tossed a complete-game two hitter against Piedmont in the 6-1 victory that sent the Eagles into the Super Regional round.  Career-wise, Kardys finished No. 3 all-time at Emory with 60 wins while setting a record with seven saves.  Her 428 1/3 total innings of action were the fourth most while her 242 strikeouts were seventh.

Sophomore Hannah Sendel provided the squad with plenty of power en route to capturing NFCA Second Team All-America acclaim.  One of two Eagles to start all 48 contests, Sendel ranked 10^th nationally with 14 home runs, the second-highest seasonal mark in school history, while ranking second in the UAA with 59 RBIs, good for a third-place tie on the program’s seasonal chart. Sendel held down the No. 18 slot in the D-III ranks with a 1.23 runs-batted-in average, and her .829 slugging percentage placed 23^rd nationally and represented the second-highest seasonal effort in school annals.  Sendel was a First Team All-UAA honoree and was selected to the league’s all-tournament team.

Senior Ally Kersthold made the most of her final campaign in an Emory uniform, starting all 48 games and finishing with a solid .340 mark at the plate.  Kersthold, a Second Team All-UAA selection, set a school record with 23 doubles and concluded the year second on the squad with 46 runs scored and third with 54 base hits. She compiled 14 multi-hit contests and drove in two or more runs on eight occasions. 

Lauren Gordetsky capped off a memorable four-year run in the program, chalking up a .369 hitting average while maintaining her reputation as one of the premier defensive players in Division III with numerous highlight-reel catches from her center field post. Gorodetsky recorded 18 stolen bases during the campaign, fourth on Emory’s seasonal ladder, and finished out her career tied with Cassie Walsh for the No. 1 position on the program’s all-time chart with 67 stolen bases.

Senior Claire Bailey was a lynchpin of the five-member senior contingent that accounted for 156 victories over their collective careers.  Bailey, a starter in all 47 contests she took the field in,  hit .358 with 48 hits in 134 plate appearances.  Third on the team with 45 runs scored, Bailey finished third on the club with 22 walks and an on-base percentage of .476.  The owner of 15 multi-hit games, she was chosen as a Second Team All-UAA honoree. In addition, she distinguished herself away from the field by being selected to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team.  Career-wise, Bailey started 175 contests, fourth most in program history, and wound up seventh on the Eagles’ all-time ladder in runs scored (138) while ranking 12^th with 167 hits. 


Honors and Awards